In July of 2010 the cost of a barrel of oil was about $73 per barrel. Today the cost is approximately $83 dollars a barrel. President Obama said yesterday that he was lifting the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This story is based on information in the Daily Caller today and a story posted yesterday in the Washington Times yesterday.
The drilling moratorium was supposed to be lifted in November, but it was announced yesterday that it would be lifted early. However, as usual, things are not always what they seem to be.
The Washington Times reported:
"Mrs. Landrieu (Senator - Louisiana Democrat) said the announcement does not go far enough for her to release her legislative hold on Jacob Lew, President Obama's nominee to be the new White House budget director. Likewise, Gulf State Republicans warned the new rules could create a bureaucratic bottleneck by being too onerous for drilling operators to comply with, saying it could be several months before their new applications are approved.
""It's clear that President Obama is going to preside over a continuing de facto moratorium for months or years, with new drilling held back to a fraction of previous levels," Louisiana's other senator, David Vitter, said."
These are the people who understand what the moratorium has done to the Louisiana economy and the impact of the new rules. You will notice that they represent both political parties. They need to be listened to.
The Daily Caller concludes:
"The irony of the moratorium's premature, but much needed end, is that it may compund negative reaction to the president by placing the drilling ban's impact front and center on the national state. Additionally, critics are deeply concerned that new safety regulations being pushed by the administraiton in the wake of the ban's conclusion may result in many more months of a "de facto moratorium."
"The case against the government for continually thrusting its untrained hand into private industry is reaching its peak, and as the Tea Party has been emphasizing for nearly two years now, the midterms will most certainly be a referendum on the scope of government."
Again, Louisiana has a better idea of how to deal with offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico than Washington. One other note--the cost of a barrel of oil has risen approximately $10 a barrel since July. Meanwhile, it will take a while to get our domestic drilling back on line. The $10 a barrel increase is going to impact senior citizens who were just told that there is no inflation and that they will not be receiving a Social Security payment increase for the second straight year in a row.
Please consider these things when you vote next month.
Leave a comment